Great Moments In Representation: Jade Jones Performance as a Plus-Sized Belle in 'Beauty And The Beast'

by Valerie Caniglia, Guest Editorial

This article is part of our “Great Moments in Representation” series, where we look back at important performances from underrepresented groups in Theatre, TV, and Movies.

(For the purposes of this article, I want to make this statement: not casting someone because they’re physically on the bigger side is despicable).

Here’s a blanket statement about me: I LOVE the Disney princesses. We can all agree they are among the most iconic characters ever to grace the screen and stage. My sisters and I have our favorite: Justine loves Ariel, while Michelle and I love Belle. My mom adores Beauty and the Beast, so recently, I took her to the movies one Sunday morning to watch a special presentation of it on the big screen as a last summer hurrah.

It did not disappoint. The spectacle, the magic, the music, the story- it’s one of the most perfect movies ever.

These princesses are beautiful. Intelligent. Kind. Hardworking. Creative.

Everything that little girls aspire to be.

But….there are no plus-sized princesses.

I remember as a little girl watching these women with their beautiful voices and beautiful faces having these wonderful adventures, and sometimes a little sad that there wasn’t one that looked like me. It’s almost as though it set a beauty standard growing up like you weren’t pretty unless you were thin and petite. Any plus-sized person I saw onscreen was the goofy, best friend, comedic relief type.

It got old pretty quickly.

And then, entering the theater industry, it didn’t get much better.

(The following anecdote is told with permission.)

There’s a woman I know who has the most beautiful soprano voice I’ve ever heard. This woman happens to be plus-sized. One day, years ago, when she was in her twenties, she went to a workshop with casting directors to get their feedback and input for educational purposes (again, they were not anything. It was a class).

The only instruction was to “bring your best material”. Musical theater performers know that, traditionally, they are not asked to sing a song from the show until callbacks. She sang “Beyond My Wildest Dreams” from The Little Mermaid.

She, by no means, went in there with the intent to be cast as Ariel; she just thought it was a cute and funny song that fit her voice well and, since it was a workshop, it would be taken out of context for the show.

The feedback was this: “Why would you sing that? You would never be cast as Ariel. You’re too big.”

I was discouraged by the lack of plus-sized actors playing lead roles for years.

That is until Jade Jones starred in the Olney Theatre Center production of Beauty and the Beast in Maryland that ran in 2021 and 2022.

This particular production was praised around the world for a few reasons:

1) For its concept and message of how beauty can be seen in several ways

2) The production itself is a wonderful example of inclusivity (it’s worth mentioning that Evan Ruggiero, the actor who played the Beast, had a prosthetic leg as he lost his to cancer).

3) Belle was played by a non-binary, Black, and plus-sized actor.

I did not see this production, but I wish I did. Do you know how excited I was to finally see a plus-sized actor play a prominent romantic lead in a Disney musical? The hope! The joy!

Though reviews for the show were somewhat mixed, Jade Jones’ reviews were remarkably positive.

From The Washington Post: “Instead of the easily digestible and diagrammable concerns and objectives, and inflexible tics that typify most figures in this Mouse House-branded entertainment, their Belle exudes complexity and realness, without sacrificing comic pizazz.”

While researching this piece, I found that Belle was written for the movie as a more feminist character in response to criticisms Disney endured for portraying their princesses as victims. Linda Woolverton, the movie’s screenwriter and first female writer for an animated Disney movie, certainly made Belle more unique than the princesses before her (save for Ariel): she’s independent, a bookworm, straight-forward thinking, creative, and passionate. She’s braver than she believes.

She blows off Gaston and doesn’t pay attention to anyone except her father (for once, this is not a love-at-first-sight story!) But the one thing I love about Belle is that, as an audience, we see that she does have flaws, unlike her princess predecessors.

In Jade Jones’s performance, by bringing these flaws to life and real-life messiness to the fairy tale, they made Belle a human we, as a modern audience, could relate to more.

Belle is a fairy-tale character. I firmly believe that it shouldn’t matter what a person looks like to fit a role like Belle as long as they fundamentally fit the director’s vision of who Belle is. The character Belle has always been portrayed, for the most part, as petite, feminine, and white.

People think “Emma Watson” when they think of Belle (for the record, I don’t. I have many problems with the live-action adaptation).

From director and Tony-nominated Marcia Milgrom Dodge:

“Little Black girls in the audience screamed out, ‘Is that Belle?’” Dodge recounted. “And it’s not just a Black Belle who fits into the size two replica dress, but a plus-size Belle. So [all] little girls can dream big about them being princesses, too.”

Jade Jones as Belle, Beauty and the Beast, Olney Theatre, credit: Teresa Castracrane

People Magazine said that this production of Beauty and the Beast was an incredible reflection of real life with real people of all sizes and ethnicities playing these characters we grew up loving. I won’t lie; I saw a picture of Jade Jones in their purple ballroom dress, and I cried a little bit because we finally got a Belle that broke the mold and kicked down the door for all plus-sized actors everywhere.

The theater industry, generally speaking, has always had fatphobia and a sizeism problem. I’m not saying there haven’t been improvements (BILL INT 0209 has passed in New York, and performers like Alex Newell and Bonnie Milligan have won Tonys for roles that, say, ten years ago, plus-sized people normally wouldn’t have performed in), but overall, it’s vital that we do better.

I tell my friend’s audition story to show we have come a long way, and I full-heartedly believe this would not have happened in 2023 based on size, inclusivity, and creativity in casting.

However, because of this old idea of what beauty is and not embracing what beauty can be, the industry is shutting doors for people who deserve to be onstage strictly because of their size.

We have come far but still have a long way to go.

Isn’t the world ready for a curvy Christine Daae? A plus-sized Romeo? We’ve already gotten a plus-sized Elle Woods (thank you, Courtney Bowman, we do not deserve you!) and a plus-sized Minnie Fay (Beanie Feldstein for the win because she was iconic in that role in the Hello, Dolly! revival).

Let’s keep breaking the mold, like Jade Jones.

OnStage Blog interviewed Jade Jones back in November 2021, and when asked about what she saw as the importance of their performance, she said:

“I have my moments of insecurities, of “Am I right for this” or “Why me”, but my team has been extremely encouraging. As a kid, I never identified with Belle because I didn’t feel I was beautiful. I hope that people see this show and feel beautiful no matter what color, size, or abilities they have.”

Say it with me:

PLUS-SIZED PEOPLE CAN PLAY ROMANTIC LEADS.

ObservationsOnStage Blog StaffGreat Moments In Representation